Where do you currently work and what position do you hold there?
I work at Catalyze Group. Catalyze is a consultancy firm mainly focused on assisting in securing funding for medical research. The funding typically comes from government-subsidized bodies at either European or national levels. ZonMW and NWO are examples of agencies that finance medical research. Catalyze specializes in writing the grant applications required for this purpose. Medical knowledge is crucial because you need to understand your client's research and articulate it on paper. Economic business knowledge is also important, but you can usually learn that on the job. For example, we need to describe the economic potential of a new medicine by examining factors like potential patient numbers and treatment costs. We need to consider the costs of the development process, the stage of development of the therapy or medical device, what steps are still needed, and approximately how much it will cost to bring the product to market. In addition to grants, we also write business plans and create slide decks for companies that want to showcase their businesses to investors to raise private investments. This is done within our strategy department. We also have a green and sustainable innovations branch, which focuses more on innovations in areas like agriculture, renewable energy (solar, wind), batteries, or transportation.

What exactly are your responsibilities?
My original role was as a consultant. You're assigned to a project and then collaborate with the client to develop it as effectively as possible. Typically, this involves a period of 2 to 3 months of extensive discussions with the client to understand the innovation and the project they want to initiate. Internally, along with other consultants, we brainstorm the best way to describe the project to have a good chance of winning the grant. Then we submit the project plan on behalf of the client. This usually entails a written application of around 30 pages, covering detailed aspects of science, business, and team dynamics.

How many colleagues do you usually work with on a project?
We always work with two people on an assignment, usually two consultants, with one consultant taking the lead. However, it's highly collaborative. We also have a team lead who oversees all projects within a team. There's a lot of room for discussion, which I find really nice. If you compare it to a PhD, at Catalyze, you share the responsibility instead of working alone. I experience Catalyze more as a team effort.

You mentioned your original role; do you have a different position now?
My current role is as a business developer. I search for new collaboration opportunities. For example, I attend conferences or reach out online to people conducting research that interests me, to see if they'd like to meet. This mostly happens through Microsoft Teams, but I also physically visit clients if they're nearby. During these meetings, I discuss their research, the research projects they might need funding for, and ultimately help them consider which funding options could be interesting for them. Additionally, I negotiate with them about what my company will do for them and the associated costs. Once we agree, they sign a contract. At that point, my part essentially ends because I hand over the contract to the consultants. I'd say this role is somewhat less technical but much more social. It involves more sales aspects like maintaining relationships with a large client network, conducting negotiations, and discussing prices. It's something you really need to enjoy. Personally, I like the variety of this work.

No, I just followed my interests, focusing on immunology. I thought it would be a great opportunity to do some internships abroad during my studies, so I did two internships in the United States, which I highly recommend. I did medical research there. During my second internship, I realized I didn't want to work in the lab, but I found the medical aspect very interesting. After that, I looked into consultancy jobs. Catalyze appealed to me because it offered the chance to combine the medical and consultancy aspects, as grant applications require writing about the cell biology of a client's product. However, it's less in-depth than a PhD, so if you have a strong passion for science, this job offers relatively less depth. That's something I've encountered in my career. I occasionally miss the depth and would enjoy a job where it's necessary to read scientific papers to have better conversations. I do feel like such jobs exist. For instance, you could work at a Contract Research Organization (CRO), where they conduct more scientific experiments.

How did you end up in this job? Did you search for vacancies on the internet?
Yes, also through LinkedIn. It actually happened through connections because one of my classmates had a part-time job at Catalyze at the time. He tipped me off about it. I went into it very open and hadn't really researched much. I just sent a letter expressing interest in visiting. At the first meeting with the recruiter is got a better understanding of the role. In the end, I'm really glad I did it because it was a very enjoyable, conducive learning environment. I've had a lot of great colleagues. The workload is also manageable. So, I'm quite satisfied with this first job.

Were there any specific requirements you needed before you could do this job?
Yes, definitely a master's degree in biomedical sciences. They also like to see some business affinity. I actually didn't have that, but I emphasized that I had taken a course in Business Management in Life Sciences during my studies, which was part of my program. But I think it's also a matter of presenting yourself well and highlighting the little things you have. It's not necessary to have a separate education specifically in business.

Are there any tasks that you find challenging?
In the beginning, it was definitely challenging to handle multiple projects simultaneously, each with different loose ends. So, I sometimes found it difficult to keep track of everything. But now that I've been working here for several years, that's no longer an issue. I've learned how to plan better and prioritize. Also, as with any first job, there's sometimes the feeling that you're not quite competent enough or that you lack the experience to do things. I think that's just part of any job.

How did your expectations of the job align with the tasks you actually perform?
It aligned pretty well, actually. What I didn't anticipate but ended up enjoying is that about 20% of my job was consortium-building. In this aspect, you have a project from one company that requires multiple research partners. As consultants, we're responsible for finding those other parties. So, it involves quite a social aspect where you also need some technical knowledge to assess whether those companies could work well together. Maybe I had hoped for slightly less administration because certain parts of those grants can be quite dry.

If you were to apply for a new job now, how would you prepare for it?
I'd try to research the content of the job. If it's scientifically oriented, I'd prepare by reading papers. I'd have a good story about why I'm suitable for the position. What I often see people do in cover letters or preparations is they go into great detail about why they like something or why they really want it. But I don't think employers are necessarily very interested in that. They're primarily interested in what they want. They're just looking for a candidate who is as suitable as possible for the role and who can fulfill that role as effectively as possible.

We're doing a master's in neuroscience, so we were curious if there's a connection with neuroscience for you, or is it mostly focused on immunology, or does it vary?
No, for us, it's not specifically focused on a topic. So, we have projects in neuroscience, cardiology, immunology—it's quite diverse. I did have a particular interest in immunology and oncology, so I sometimes felt a bit disappointed if I had to work on, say, a cardiology project. I always tried to arrange that internally, though, by clearly expressing to my manager that I really wanted to work on certain projects, and that sometimes worked.

For example, could you, if you wanted, progress to another/higher position like manager?
Yes, that's certainly possible. I personally don't have that ambition because I've noticed that management positions often involve even less technical work. You're mostly overseeing and checking on colleagues to ensure they're doing their work and managing the schedule, so you move further away from the content. Within consultancy and business development, there is room for advancement as you can start as a junior and then progress to a mediator or senior role. But the tasks are generally quite similar across those different positions. So, if you stay within consultancy or business development, you can learn a lot in a period of two to three years. After that, the learning curve levels off a bit.

How often do you work from home versus working at a location or visiting clients?
We have a hybrid setup now where you're expected to be in the office two days a week and can work from home three days a week. You can always come to the office if you want. Visiting clients? Well, in my current role, it's entirely up to me. As a consultant, you only go (if you have Dutch clients) to the client for the first meeting, which isn't very often. I'd say maybe a few times a year.

Do you have any tips for graduates to prepare for the job market and interviews?
Don't put all your eggs in one basket. When you start applying, I'd recommend making an Excel file and listing all the positions you find interesting, then sending out a lot of applications. Additionally, I think it's good to occasionally apply for things that might not be the perfect match but are still interesting. You can't always find everything you want to know online, so it can be worth it to get more information during an interview or just as an exercise, apply somewhere. If you wait for that one perfect job and it's your first application, and you're not quite sure how to approach it, there's a risk you won't get it, and that can be really disappointing. I also think it's essential to consider whether you find the work environment pleasant. So, don't be afraid to ask about normal working hours within the company. Also, ask yourself if you mind working 50, 60, 70 hours a week. So, ask during the interview because there can be quite a difference in what the norms and work ethics are within companies. It's also good to consider if you value having fun colleagues. For example, during the interview, you can ask if they can give you a tour of the department so you can see if you click with the company and the people there.

Contact info: willem.vliegen@catalyze-group.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/willem-vliegen